Johannesburg:
Ten people were killed and about 40 others injured when a fuel tanker exploded in Boksburg, a South African town east of Johannesburg, emergency services said Saturday.
The tanker, carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), became trapped under a bridge near a hospital and houses on Saturday morning.
“We received a call at 07:50 that a gas tanker was trapped under a bridge. Firefighters were called to put out the flames. Unfortunately, the tanker exploded,” William Ntladi, spokesman for the region’s emergency services, told AFP.
One of the injured was the driver who was taken to hospital, he added.
He said the death toll had risen to 10 from the nine previously reported.
Of those injured, about half were in a serious condition, while 15 others were seriously injured but in a stable condition.
Six firefighters also suffered minor injuries, Ntladi said.
Videos posted on social media showed a huge fireball under the bridge, where the tanker appeared to have been too high to pass under.
It carried 60,000 liters of LPG gas, which is mainly used in cooking and gas stoves, and came from the southeast of the country.
Witness Jean Marie Booysen described a “massive jolt” in the early morning hours, shortly after 6:30 am.
“Today is indeed a very sad day in our little suburb,” she said as she stood next to a forensic team combing the crime scene.
“I went upstairs to drink my cup of tea and I saw huge flames. I thought there was a house on fire.”
She said she later learned of the deaths of “two kids across the street, 16, the girl, and 25, the boy, who came to mow my lawn every weekend.”
Another witness named William, who did not give his last name, said people nearby had felt the blast.
“I think I was 50 meters (164 feet) from the scene and when the third one exploded I was about 400 meters away.”
“We burned behind our backs,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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